Why buy a Benz?

So here is my idea about buying a car instead of renting one:

Since I talked to you guys last weekend I have thought more about what I want to do next year. I also visited Emerson College today, and talked talked to my family shortly. It looks more and more like I will be applying to grad school in the UK. This means I will have to sell my car, because It will be more profitable to sell or trade in here then to ship to bulgaria and try to sell there. Keeping it is also not a good choice because I can't drive in the UK, and it will not be driven in Bulgaria.

So you might be wondering how this come into play with buying a Benz, well I will try to sell my car in the spring, and will still need to get to school for half of a semester. So a cheap and reliable car will be something I might be looking at. I could get a honda or something real cheap, but for the purpose of this trip I could also invest in something a little better, more reliable, and more exciting. That is where the Benz comes into play. 

The S500 from 1996-`99 is one of the most robust, and reliable cars that mercedes has over engineered in the past. These cars where also mass produced so there are a lot of them now that the economy suck. So I could pick one up for about $5000. I would insure it in Massachusetts and drive it to school for 6 weeks or so. I will make sure everything is good to go for the trip. Including fluids, tires, thermostats, speedos, lights, A/C, etc...

We will pay approximately 1000$ for gas for the whole trip with this car.

And in the end I might be able to sell it to my room mates for half the price (or around $2500).

I like this idea because it seems more exiting then driving a dull rental camry crammed with our shit it in. The S500 is a limousine and has a huge trunk and nice back seats that we can pass out on. 

Here are a few pictures of the car I am thinking about:

Nice big trunk:

W140 s500 or even better a s420 (for gas economy)

Nice big trunk

I think there are 4 main questions to ask when making the choice between buying and renting:

1. Is buying cheaper then renting?

2. Is buying as reliable as renting?

3. What do you do with the car when you are done?

4. What's more fun?

Some thoughts on those questions are:

1. In this case buying might be as expensive or a little bit more then renting I estimated

2. I think this car will be as reliable if not more reliable then the car we could rent

3. Like I said there is the option of selling it to my room mates

4. I think this is the car that would be the most fun i could think of.:)

thats it for now

Gas Calculation for 05 Toyota Camry

here is the gas calculation for a 05 toyota camry

30 mpg highway, 18.5 gallon tank, 6000 miles to go, $3.20 per gallon average gas cost

30 mpg x 18.5 gallons = 555 miles on a tank

6000 miles / 555 miles = about 11 stops for gas

11 stops x 18.5 gallons = 203.5 gallons 

203.5 gallons x $3.20 per gallon = $ 651 for the round trip for gas

Mercedes Benz S500 (Chase code w140) - Gas Costs

I just calculated the gas costs for a S500.

20 mpg, 26 gallon tank, 6000 miles to go, average $3.50 per gallon premium gas,

20 mpg x 26 gallon = 520 miles on a tank

6000 miles / 520 miles = 11.5 (12) gas top ups. 

12 fills x 26 gallons = 312 gallons

312 gallons x $3.5 = about $1092 round trip for gas 

Hello and Welcome

Yo so I made this blog so that it is easy for us to plan and keep track of everything we come up with for this trip. Please subscribe to this page, and get comfortable with the way it works. It is pretty easy you will find. 

I already talked to some people on the BMW forum, and they have given me some good info that I will post on here as time goes along. 

1. First question I guess is when you guys wanna do this?

2. How long do you wanna be on the road?

3. Do you wanna drive both ways, or rent one way fly the other?

4. How much do you think you will be able to spend on everything?

5. There is the question of renting or buying?

Buying is a valid choice, as I will probably sell my car in the spring, and will need something for 5 grand to drive to school. I could make sure that car will run perfect before we go, and when I get back I could possible sell it to my roommates who are staying in boston another two year. I will post details about the car I have in mind a little later.

Please take the 5 minutes to register and get familiar with the site. If we don't plan this out at least a little bit I think there is a good chance it will not happen. We all have too many other interests and obligations, and get side tracked pretty quickly.

Cheers,